Rolls Royce has just unveiled its first electric vehicle – the Spectre. The car was first teased in late 2021, with a production-ready version finally breaking cover to reveal a very Wraith-like form, one that sits between the Cullinan and the OG Rolls – the Phantom.
In keeping with its superlative luxury theme, Rolls Royce has gone all out with a car that’s set to cost upwards of Rs 6 - 7 crore, when it arrives in India. Rolls Royce has stated that the Spectre can be commissioned effectively immediately.
Instead of a radical EV form like the EQS, Rolls has decided to go with a conventional form, making this the successor to the Phantom Coupe. Still, this is a car with a drag coefficient of 0.25Cd (compare that to the super-slippery Mercedes-Benz EQS’ 0.20Cd) so it’s effectively the most aerodynamic Rolls Royce in history.
Even the massive 23-inch wheels are aerodynamically enhanced. Still, Rolls Royce has exercised restraint in designing the Spectre, so neither the exterior nor the interior design strays from contemporary Rolls. And contemporary Rolls Royces continue to have a more traditional shape, inspired by the coachbuilding era of cars.
As a result, the interiors do not have any large pillar-to-pillar touchscreens, Not built on a born-EV platform, the Spectre shares its underpinnings with existing cars like the Wraith, the Phantom and the Cullinan. The architecture is actually two decades old but Rolls maintains it was designed keeping in mind the possibility of electrification.
The super coupe is likely to weigh nearly three tonnes, which isn’t much more than the born-electric EVs of today. Rolls also claim this is 30% stiffer than any previous Rolls Royce.
There are several familiar elements about its design, like a wide, albeit opaque grille, the Spirit of Ecstacy perched above it. The split headlamp design is also borrowed from the Phantom and is something of a Rolls Royce signature, except they’re much slimmer now. In case it wasn’t perfectly evident, Rolls Royce has taken inspiration from luxury yachts while designing the Spectre, which makes sense given that it will practically float over rough surfaces.
Rolls Royce is still in the process of tweaking and perfecting the powertrain, as a result, the total power output of the car hasn’t been finalised, nor has the size of the battery. But Rolls has revealed that the Spectre will be good for about 585 hp and 900 Nm of torque.
It’s also claimed that the range will be around 520km as per a WLTP cycle, so a tad less than the Teslas and Mercs of the world, but hey, it’s got a starlit ceiling.
In fact, it’s got starlit door pads as well now, along with a screen on the dashboard, for the front passenger housing Rolls’s latest software platform dubbed ‘the Spirit’ which will feature connected car tech, and will serve as the proprietary interface for all Rolls Royce cars.
While deliveries are set to begin in the second quarter of 2023, Rolls is presently in the process of putting the Spectre through an extensive 2.5 million kilometres, in order to ensure that the electric technology is up to Rolls Royce standards. The BMW-owned brand has also stated that all its cars will be electric by 2030.
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